Apparently they do. 3CDC has posted its presentation on the plan for Fountain Square. Be forewarned, it's a 103-page PDF. Head to their Fountain Square section for all kinds of documents.

But page 32 says they do have to move the fountain, at least temporarily, to waterproof the parking garage and lower the elevation of the square itself. Still, not sure I'm crazy about not being able to see the fountain from up and down Fifth Street.

In any case, read more about it: the Enquirer had a story and a look at the thoughts of some council members. (Tell them what you think on June 6. They hope to vote on it the week after.) The Post did a package on Saturday. Presumably, there will be more tomorrow.

And, also in the "what-do-you-think" category, YPCincy is hosting a preview at McFadden's tomorrow, June 1. Head to their site to register.

In the blogworld, for those of you who don't read around much: Joe's happy, Nick has some concerns (especially the trees) and Brian is worried this will leave Main Street and the Riverfront out in the cold.

"Kings Island is popular. I don't think we ought to be putting Ferris wheels in the lobby of the library just because they're popular."
Charles Lindberg, a trustee of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County since 1982, in a story about libraries adding newfangled things like movies on DVDs and offering Internet access.

Yeah, because the kids are clambering to ride the Kings Island Ferris wheel, which was apparently removed from the park 15 years ago (also see old Enquirer graphic). Maybe the library would consider Italian Job shuttle cars?

Head to Zazou in Covington from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight to hang with CiN staff, eat some pizza and see two of the Taste of Cincinnati bands play acoustic sets for free! At 7 you can see the Stapletons and at 8 it's Swarthy. Plus, we'll be giving free stuff away. Really, there's no reason to not check this out, and get all psyched for the Taste of Cincinnati this weekend. (see my post below for more about that...)

Nationally, April saw record home sales. Closer to home, Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky set their record last year, so sales were technically down a bit, but are still running ahead of last year. And we're still way cheaper than the national average. The average sale around the country was $255,000. Nearby, it's $171,000 in Ohio and $147,000 in Kentucky. (Did we mention that interest rates are still below 6 percent?) So, save yourself some money, don't move to California and snap up some real estate while the buying is good.

The '55 Nash Metropolitan might have the buzz anymore, but there will be two Corvettes offered at the auction of Marge Schott's car collection in a couple weeks. You could also get your hands on a '63 Rolls Royce, if that's your thing. We're even guessing these cars are St. Bernard-free.

In which our heroine discovers the advantages of a little-used land line, as well as the perils of having a police record, even a non-criminal one

Last night, my roommate pointed out to me that I seemed to have some messages on the answering machine. Odd, I thought as I went to listen. Everyone I know just calls my cell phone; the only time I have messages is when somebody can't reach me on my cell and subsequently tries me at home.

But sure enough, four messages. I hit the "Play" button.

"Hello, this message is for Kelly M. Hudson. I'm calling from XYZ Legal Solutions, and we have in our records that you were the victim of a recent car accident. We say 'victim' because we want you to know that you are entitled to certain legal rights ..."

BEEP. "Your message has been deleted."

The implications are sinking in, and as the next message begins to play, I pray that this was just a one-off.

"Hello, Kelly M. Hudson, I'm calling from ABC Therapy Clinic about the car accident. We just wanted to let you know -"

BEEP.

"Hello, Miss Kelly M. Hudson, we're calling about the accident, and could you please call 1-800..."

BEEP.

"This message is for Kelly M. Hudson, we're calling to offer our legal services -"

BEEP. "End of messages."

I'm sure eventually this will become amusing, but for right now I'm just disgusted. I have this mental image of a dozen lawyers combing through the public records. Suddenly, one holds up a file triumphantly. "Fender-bender! JACKPOT!" The other lawyers turn to him, eyes glazed, flecks of foam visible at the corners of their mouths. The first one freezes, realizing that in his excitement, he's made a terrible mistake. He takes two steps toward the door - the last two steps he'll ever make.

OK. Now it's kinda funny.

UPDATE. Only one more phone message Tuesday night. But I did get five letters from lawyers and one from an auto-body shop. If only filing an accident report was like registering to view the New York Times, where you can uncheck the box that says "I wish to receive updates from advertisers targeting my demographic," or what have you.

OK, we're publishing, so I have like 30 seconds to blog, but go here and download songs from all of the bands playing on the CiN Stage at Taste of Cincinnati (that's this weekend - Saturday-Monday). Yep, that's 14 free songs from local bands - and you can see all of them for free on our stage ... Download the songs individually, plus get the "sampler" which gives you clips of all the bands..

**See two of the bands - the Stapletons and the Swarthy Band - at Zazou from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday when they play acoustic sets (also free)! Plus, you can get drink specials and sample the bar's amazing pizza ... Awesome.

Discuss.

Someone rear-ended my brand-new car this afternoon, which is depressing.

The good news is I guess if you have to get into a car accident, this was pretty much the best possible one to be in. No one was hurt. Everyone was insured. Everyone was civil. The policemen showed up quickly and were very helpful. And really, the damage to my car isn't that bad.

Still. My new car...

So, I was thinking I might call in sick to work for a few days, blow my credit-card limit on a plane ticket to Los Angeles, and skulk around the convention center for a few days just in case I get a chance to sneak inside. Anyone wanna come?

About a year ago, I decided the time was right to try downtown living. I've been thinking about my urban experiment lately, tallying up the good points and bad points. Here's how it's going.

Good: Living in a loft. Mine, in the former Baker Shoe building next to the Cincinnati Athletic Club, has 12-foot ceilings and a south-looking view of the city. Sunday night I gazed out the window and saw the Goodyear Blimp cruising over the river. How cool is that?
Bad: The noise, especially the buses that wake me up before my alarm goes off. In fact, I rarely set the alarm anymore. I can count on the sound of air brakes rousting me from a deep slumber with the subtlety of a barnyard rooster.

Good: Living in walking distance from restaurants, bars and Great American Ball Park. I never have to worry about finding a place to park.
Bad: The smell of urine. A week or so ago, I caught a drunk red-handed (or something-handed) relieving himself near the entrance to my building. Despite my shouts of protest, he finished his business before stumbling off into the night.

Good: Walking to work in the morning. I'll miss this the most when life inevitably takes me to a residential neighborhood.
Bad: Walking to work in the morning. Especially that winter day a car hit me. No, I wasn't hurt. The driver, who had scraped a spot on her icy windshield the size of a pancake to peer through, was stopped halfway through the intersection when the light changed red. Since traffic wasn't moving and I had the "walk" signal, I decided to walk in front of her - so she could see me. But she didn't.

Good: The sense of community. There's Joe, my favorite Walgreens manager who gives us change to do our laundry, even though it's technically against store policy. There are the guys I nod "good morning" to going in and out of the athletic club, including Sheriff Simon Leis and Mayor Charlie Luken. The mayor sometimes sticks an "official city business" sign on his dashboard when he parks at a meter in front of the club. (Since I'm not a member, I have to take the sign at its word.)
Bad: The crime. My wife and I have had our car windows smashed and glove boxes ransacked while parked on the street. Now we don't even chance it; the cars go right into the parking garage, even if we're only going to be home for an hour.

If you live downtown, or have in the not-so-distant past, I'd love to hear your experiences.

Running around town interviewing people and taking photos for the Bar Guide was a good time. Unfortunately, we didn't have space for some truly groundbreaking pieces of photojournalism. Like this poopy picture:



The diaper was found at a watering hole that shall remain nameless.

What's the oddest thing you've ever found in a bar?

A throat ailment has apparently forced singer Elvis Costello to cancel his scheduled Thursday concert. Refunds are available. Check with the Taft for more.

Rocco just walked into our office followed by an entourage: a cameraman, a guy holding a boom mike, and a woman who told us they're filming - get this - a reality show for A&E.

About Rocco.

Its working title is "Rocco My World."

I feel sorry for the boom mike guy. His arms must get tired.

is ready for CiN's Bar Guide. Are you?

On Saturday night (Sunday morning, really) I got three and a half hours of sleep.

I went to bed at 3 a.m. after helping co-copy-editor Kari ring in her 24th birthday (just one week after mine!). I woke up at 6:30 a.m., rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes and went out to cheer on my friend Jeff in the Flying Pig Marathon. (6:30 is waaaay too early for me even if I have gotten a decent amount of sleep. But if Jeff can get up at 5:30 a.m. and run 26.2 miles, then I could sit on a sidewalk in my sweatpants and hold a damn sign for thirty seconds.)

Eileen, Carrie (different one from the birthday girl; hence the different spelling) and I met at Marburg and Erie (about mile 12 of the course) in Hyde Park, conveniently located next to a Starbucks (as is everything in Hyde Park). I didn't get one because I was planning to go back home to bed, but Eileen and Carrie were pretty happy with the arrangement.

Anyway, we huddled there chatting about work and the Boston Marathon (Jeff was running to qualify) and clapping whenever a runner passed. I grew amazed by these runners. Here are these men and women who have run 12 miles and are still going faster than I can jog.

It wasn't long before we saw Jeff coming towards us. We jumped to our feet and started waving our signs and screaming. When he saw us, he flashed a big grin, threw his hands in the air and waved. As he ran by, even faster than before, he high-fived all of us and shouted "I love you guys!" over his shoulder.

And then he was gone. We stared after him for a few seconds and talked about how well he was doing.

"Does he have any other cheering sections?" I asked.

"No - we're it," Eileen said. "That's why I think I'm going to go down to Eastern and Delta - you guys want to come?"

Hmm. I weighed the joy of supporting my friend vs. the three hours of sleep I'd had ... "I'm gonna need some coffee."

I wasn't just committed; I was VENTI committed.

Ten minutes later, we were off to Columbia Tusculum. We settled in around mile 20 - the mile when marathon runners typically hit the famous "wall" and feel they can't go another step. (My wall is at about 200 yards. Have I mentioned that marathon runners amaze me?) We had a little while to wait, so we used the time to set Jeff's name to "Eye of the Tiger," Starbucks-commercial style. About half an hour later ...

"Jeff! Jeff-Jeff-Jeff! Jeff-Jeff-Jeff! Jeff-Jeff-Jeff!"

Oh my god, he was still running! How can human beings DO that? His face lit up as he yelled at us, "I'm going to Boston!"

And he was gone again. We stood around.

"Who wants to go to the finish line?"

We were marathon groupies.

We parked at Riverboat Row to avoid downtown parking hassles. As we were walking toward the Purple People Bridge, it occurred to us: Jeff was due to cross the finish line in 10 minutes! Our friend had run the distance faster than we could drive and walk it!

We finally caught up to Jeff during the foil-wrapping, bagel-eating stage. He seemed happy, but subdued. He told us his time.

He had missed Boston by one minute and 19 seconds.

But he had shaved something like 10 minutes off his personal best.

"I'll have to run another marathon in the fall," he said. It'll probably be Columbus, which is flat where Cincinnati is hilly. He's going to make it next time.

And maybe his cheering section will be there to see him do it.

CiN Weekly's Bar Guide hits stands on Wednesday. The special issue features nearly 500 bars and clubs, the winners of our "Hot Bartender Contest," a picture by noted photographer David Clark, and much more.